Each State's FY 2005 Medicaid data, submitted to CMS for reimbursement and compiled by Thompson/Medstat, provides extremely helpful information to analyze and compare your State's distribution of its Long Term Care expenditures between its Institutional versus Community-Based Services.

Nationally, and for all disabilities, 63% of the long term care expenditures went to institutions, i.e, both to nursing homes (for physically disabled persons of all ages) and to intermediate care facilities (for persons with MR/DD). 37% went to the community, i.e., for all MA waivers (i.e., both PD and MR/DD), personal care option, and home health services in the community.

As you all know, we live with the historical disability divide - persons with MR/DD, on one hand, and persons with physical disabilities of all ages (i.e., aged, too) , on the other hand.As unfortunate as the divide is and as much as it perpetuates divisions in the disability community,it's what we have. MA expenditures follow this divide.

When disabilities are broken down by MR/DD and PD, a dramatic difference exists in the 63-37% national long term care distribution.

For persons receiving MR/DD services, nationally only 41.6% goes to institutions (ICF-MRs) and 58.4% is spent for community-based services.That is, less Medicaid funds go to provide services for persons with MR/DD in the institutions than in community.In dollars, $12.1 b was spent on institutions but $17 b was spent for community-based services.

In contrast,for persons with physical disabilities (regardless of their age), 72.9% is expended on institutional services and 27.1% on community-based services.In dollars, nursing homes received $47 b but only $17.6 b was spent for community-based services.

Why the lopsided distribution based on type of disability? Are the MR/DD advocates better organized or smarter than the PD advocates? Do MR/DD advocates have more clout at the State level? Are MR/DD advocates more committed to community-based services? Have they been engaged in this struggle for more years? [This is not to suggest that 41.6% of the MR/DD services in institutions is satisfactory. To the contrary, we hope they will increase the expenditure ratios for community-based services. There is a long way still to go!] Are the PD nursing home proprietors more politically powerful and connected than the MR/DD ICF-MR private proprietors?

Why hasn't there even been a public discussion on the lopsided MR/DD versus PD distribution? If you have any ideas, insights and are interested, send your comments and we'll try to facilitate such a discussion.

Let's look at the differences in each State. The following chart provides two columns - the first for MR/DD and the second for PD.For each, we provide the ratio of expenditures, i.e., the amount of institutional expenditures for each $1 of community expenditures.

The national ratio for MR/DD services is"0.71 in institutions for each $1.00 expended in the community.

The national ratio for PD services is $2.68 in the institution for each $1 spent in the community.

How does your State compare?

Ratio of expenditures for institutional versus community:

  MR/DDPD
Alabama0.14 to $1$7.64 to $1
Alaska$0 to $10.93 to $1
Arizona*????
Arkansas$1.60 to $1$2.85 to $1
California0.62 to $1$1 to $1
Colorado0.25 to $1$2.99 to $1
Connecticut0 .51 to $1$3.65 to $1
Delaware$0.48 to $1$7.26 to $1
D. C.$7.81 to 1$4.52 to $1
Florida$0.49 to $1$7.23 to $1
Georgia$0.42 to $1$7.05 to $1
Hawaii$ 0.11 to $1$4.79 to $1
Idaho$1.11 to $1$1.51 to $1
Illinois$1.65 to $1$3.79 to $1
Indiana0.82 to $1$11.93 to $1
Iowa$1.15 to $1$3.69 to $1
Kansas0.31 to $1$2.17 to $1
Kentucky0.70 to $1$4.61 to $1
Louisiana$1.73 to $1$5.54 to $1
Maine0.30 to$1$3.33 to $1
Maryland0.18 to $1$4.74 to $1
Massachusetts0.33 to $1$3.35 to $1
Michigan0.05 to $1$5.52 to $1
Minnesota0.20 to $1$1.46 to $1
Mississippi*????
Missouri0.88 to $1$2.54 to $1
Montana0.21 to $1$2.49 to $1
Nebraska0.49 to $1$4.14 to $1
Nevada0.55 to $1$2.63 to $1
New Hampshire0.02 to $1$8.53 to $1
New Jersey$1.34 to $1$3.72 to $1
New Mexico0.09 to $1$0.94 to $1
New York0.81 to $1$1.85 to $1
North Carolina$1.56 to $1$1.39 to $1
North Dakota$1.12 to $1$18.98 to $1
Ohio$2.08 to $1$4.43 to $1
Oklahoma0.55 to $1$3.20 to $1
Oregon0 to $10.86 to $1
Pennsylvania0.55 to $1$9.52 to $1
Rhode Island0.04 to $1$8.13 to $1
South Carolina0.89 to $1$4.54 to $1
South Dakota0.29 to $1$8.66 to $1
Tennessee0.76 to $1$91.04 to $1
Texas$1.91 to $1$1.18 to $1
Utah0.51 to $1$9.31 to $1
Vermont0.01 to $1$1.87 to $1
Virginia0.78 to $1$3.74 to $1
Washington0.36 to $10.95 to $1
West Virginia0.29 to $1$3.29 to $1
Wisconsin0.47 to $1$2.58 to $1
Wyoming0.24 to $1$3.99 to $1
National0.71 to $1$2.68 to $1

*Data for AZ and Mississippi are not available.


Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues

 

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